Associate Director, Software Engineering
A global, technology-driven organization operating at the intersection of engineering, automation, and regulated industries is seeking an Associate Director, Software Engineering to lead and scale software delivery across complex, customer‑facing engineering programs.
This highly collaborative leadership role is for a technically grounded software leader who can balance hands‑on engineering judgment , program execution , and people leadership in a fast‑paced, multidisciplinary environment.
Key Responsibilities
Software Engineering Leadership
- Provide technical and organizational leadership across multiple software engineering projects and programs.
- Guide teams on software development best practices, architecture, design patterns, code quality, testing, and deployment.
- Oversee execution across different development methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall), selecting the right approach for each program.
- Ensure disciplined software lifecycle management, including release planning, branching strategies, documentation, and verification activities.
- Drive compliance with applicable regulatory and quality standards (experience in regulated environments strongly preferred).
Program & Delivery Management
- Partner closely with engineering leadership, program managers, business stakeholders, and customers to define and deliver program objectives.
- Ensure project scope, schedules, resources, risks, and priorities are clearly defined, documented, and communicated.
- Lead technical reviews, architecture discussions, and design assessments, providing objective and constructive feedback.
- Identify technical and program risks early and develop mitigation and contingency plans.
- Monitor execution against schedule, budget, and quality expectations, proactively addressing deviations.
- Support customer communication and engagement, including regular status updates and change management discussions.
- Drive structured execution through design reviews, phase gates, testing cycles, and change control processes.
- Ensure smooth transfer of software solutions from development into manufacturing or production environments.
- Directly manage and mentor software engineers and technical contributors.
- Support hiring, onboarding, performance management, and professional development planning.
- Participate in resource planning and allocation to meet shifting business and program demands.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, quality, and continuous improvement.
Operational Excellence
- Contribute to the development and refinement of internal engineering processes, tools, and standards.
- Support administrative responsibilities including reporting, approvals, budgeting, and vendor or tooling decisions.
- Champion design robustness, reliability, and long‑term maintainability across delivered solutions.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience, or
- Master’s degree with 8+ years , or
- PhD with 5+ years , or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Strong background in software engineering leadership within complex, multidisciplinary product or system environments.
- Experience working with modern programming languages and development tools (e.g., Python, C++, C#, SQL).
- Proficiency with version control systems (e.g., Git‑based workflows) and project/task management tools (e.g., Jira or similar).
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams delivering software for regulated, safety‑critical, or high‑reliability applications (preferred).
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Management and Engineering
Industries
Medical Equipment Manufacturing, Hospitals and Health Care, and Biotechnology Research
San Diego, CA | $163,210.00 – $245,740.00
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